The present invention relates to a printer system and a method of reproducing an image.
Printers in conventional arrangements have been configured to interface with one or more associated computers and to generate a plurality of images responsive to received page description language data from such associated computers. More recently, the roles of printers have been expanded to provide more varied functions. For example, some printers have been developed to provide conventional printing operations in combination with an associated computer as well as to provide operations normally handled by copiers.
Such printers can be coupled with one or more accessory devices to provide enhanced flexibility and an increased number of functions. Some exemplary printer arrangements are configured to couple with a scanner accessory device to provide a printer system capable of typical copy functions. Scanners are configured to convert images provided upon media into electronic information. The converted electronic data corresponding to the images can be transferred to the associated printer. Thereafter, the printer operates to reproduce the scanned images upon outputted media.
Conventional scanner arrangements typically include one or more mechanisms configured to provide scanning of images of pages to be reproduced. Typical scanner arrangements include an automatic document feeder (ADF) as well as a flatbed (glass) area. Such permits rapid reproduction of a plurality of documents having a common size as well as traditional copying of pages having different sizes.
These conventional printer arrangements suffer from distinct disadvantages. For example, conventional systems fail to provide a convenient copying process for reproducing a plurality of images which are originally provided on pages of different sizes. Using conventional arrangements, a user runs two sets of jobs through the copier to enable reproduction of a multi-page job from the flatbed area. A first job is a single copy of all the different sized originals individually copied from the flatbed. The first copy provides the images to be reproduced onto paper having a common size. Thereafter, the first job comprising the multiple images provided on common sized paper is fed through the automatic document feeder providing the second job. Such permits the second print job to be mass copied, collated, stapled, etc. However, some image quality is sacrificed because the final output job (i.e., second job) is copied from a copy (i.e., first job).
Therefore, a need exists to provide improved devices and methodologies for copying multi-page jobs from a flatbed area of a scanner or copier.
The present invention includes a printer system and a method of reproducing an image. One aspect of the present invention provides a printing system including a scanner including an image reception device configured to flatbed scan a print job including a plurality of pages and output image data corresponding to the pages; a print engine controller coupled with the scanner and configured to receive the print job including the image data corresponding to the pages; and a print engine coupled with the print engine controller and configured to print a plurality of collated copies of the print job.
Another aspect of the present invention provides a method of reproducing an image comprising: providing a scanner; coupling a printer with the scanner; flatbed scanning a print job comprising a plurality of pages using the scanner; and printing a plurality of collated copies of the print job.
Yet another aspect of the present invention provides a method of reproducing an image comprising: providing a scanner; coupling a printer with the scanner; flatbed scanning a plurality of input pages using the scanner; outputting image data from the scanner which corresponds to the input pages; and printing at least one output page having image data from plural input pages using the printer.